I too see strong parallels between Jimmy and Dean. (I blathered on in my LJ, if you wanna go have a look and pass comment. *g*)
I don't see that Jimmy's lost his faith, however. I think, like most people, he had an idea in his head about what God and heaven and service were about -- but it was a theoretical construct. He never imagined he'd get a practical demo, or that the truth was that he'd be chained to a comet. In the same way that Dean knew, in theory, that going to hell would be bad - and then found out for himself the difference between theory and reality. That throwaway line - Vivisection, if they're feeling generous? Ick. A very very very small hint of what he endured.
I loved how both Jimmy and Amelia were believers -- but that honestly? He was talking to an angel? That can't be real. Belief in the unseen is somehow easier to cope with than a real-life encounter with the divine. I love that. It rings so true. When it's a comfortable theory that actually doesn't require any real sacrifice? That's cool. When your belief stands up and smacks you in the face, says -- now you must walk the walk, not just talk the talk? That's where the rubber meets the road. I love how the show is tackling this. I also love how Jimmy was all a bit starstruck -- Heaven chose me, I'm special! And then the gloss wore off, because serving heaven is hard. It hurts. Chuck knows this. Jimmy knows this. And I think Dean is about to find out, up close and personal.
I loved Anna's quick appearance in this ep. I think she was there to put a face to Castiel's predicament -- she told us, unequivocally, that Castiel was being schooled. And speaking of his return-- I don't read Dean at the end being hurt by Castiel's rebuff. I think, linking it to what Anna told him and Sam, that he sees Castiel's been punished. And he knows he's partly responsible for that. He's shocked. And Castiel doesn't come across to me as angry at Dean, in that moment, or even as cold -- I see him as shell-shocked, still stunned by his punishment. 'I learned my lesson'. He's been whopped good and hard. And even though Castiel kept telling Dean that he wasn't a high up angel, I think a part of Dean hadn't quite grasped that. So now I'm really fascinated to see how their relationship will develop. A part of me thinks -- hopes -- that they haven't spent so much time building that complicated friendship/relationship to chuck it out the window so quickly. But if Dean does indeed subordinate himself to heaven, and to Castiel as heaven's front man -- that'll be interesting to watch too. So many layers!!!!
I will say I found this the least accomplished, structurally, of all Carver's scripts. There was a lot of shorthand, plot hole logic stuff that kind of got handwaved. But I'm prepared to let it slide because the emotional content is lovely, as always. I've said elsewhere I strongly believe the finale this year is a 3 act deal -- that we won't see the full scope of the story until we can watch eps 20, 21 and 22 as a unit. I still firmly believe it to be the case.
Yikes! They're being so gutsy. I love them for it.
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Date: 2009-05-05 05:20 am (UTC)I too see strong parallels between Jimmy and Dean. (I blathered on in my LJ, if you wanna go have a look and pass comment. *g*)
I don't see that Jimmy's lost his faith, however. I think, like most people, he had an idea in his head about what God and heaven and service were about -- but it was a theoretical construct. He never imagined he'd get a practical demo, or that the truth was that he'd be chained to a comet. In the same way that Dean knew, in theory, that going to hell would be bad - and then found out for himself the difference between theory and reality. That throwaway line - Vivisection, if they're feeling generous? Ick. A very very very small hint of what he endured.
I loved how both Jimmy and Amelia were believers -- but that honestly? He was talking to an angel? That can't be real. Belief in the unseen is somehow easier to cope with than a real-life encounter with the divine. I love that. It rings so true. When it's a comfortable theory that actually doesn't require any real sacrifice? That's cool. When your belief stands up and smacks you in the face, says -- now you must walk the walk, not just talk the talk? That's where the rubber meets the road. I love how the show is tackling this. I also love how Jimmy was all a bit starstruck -- Heaven chose me, I'm special! And then the gloss wore off, because serving heaven is hard. It hurts. Chuck knows this. Jimmy knows this. And I think Dean is about to find out, up close and personal.
I loved Anna's quick appearance in this ep. I think she was there to put a face to Castiel's predicament -- she told us, unequivocally, that Castiel was being schooled. And speaking of his return-- I don't read Dean at the end being hurt by Castiel's rebuff. I think, linking it to what Anna told him and Sam, that he sees Castiel's been punished. And he knows he's partly responsible for that. He's shocked. And Castiel doesn't come across to me as angry at Dean, in that moment, or even as cold -- I see him as shell-shocked, still stunned by his punishment. 'I learned my lesson'. He's been whopped good and hard. And even though Castiel kept telling Dean that he wasn't a high up angel, I think a part of Dean hadn't quite grasped that. So now I'm really fascinated to see how their relationship will develop. A part of me thinks -- hopes -- that they haven't spent so much time building that complicated friendship/relationship to chuck it out the window so quickly. But if Dean does indeed subordinate himself to heaven, and to Castiel as heaven's front man -- that'll be interesting to watch too. So many layers!!!!
I will say I found this the least accomplished, structurally, of all Carver's scripts. There was a lot of shorthand, plot hole logic stuff that kind of got handwaved. But I'm prepared to let it slide because the emotional content is lovely, as always. I've said elsewhere I strongly believe the finale this year is a 3 act deal -- that we won't see the full scope of the story until we can watch eps 20, 21 and 22 as a unit. I still firmly believe it to be the case.
Yikes! They're being so gutsy. I love them for it.